Record demand for rural P.E.I. bus route causing 'sellouts,' frustration for some passengers

Some passengers who rely on T3 Transit's early morning bus route from Summerside to Charlottetown say a surge in demand is making it tough to book a seat online, and be assured they'll get to work or school on time. 

"It used to be that every Sunday, I'd book seats for the following weekdays. But for the first week of classes in September, I found several of the early buses on the weekdays were full already," said Jenny Lynn, who lives just outside Summerside, and works in Charlottetown. 

"I've heard several students and regulars say they can't get early buses. So are you just late for work? Do you miss classes?"

Mike Cassidy, the owner of T3 Transit, says the Summerside-Charlottetown route has seen record numbers since the start of September, with all 52 seats on the two morning buses regularly booked ahead of time. 

Despite that, Cassidy said there are at least a few empty seats available each morning. 

"What happens, the bus driver starts the route in Summerside with 52 of 52 seats booked. 39 of those people actually show. And then we have what we call walk-ons," he said. 

"So we have been able to look after everybody that shows up. My biggest concern is, 'I didn't show up because your computer said it was booked.' That's what hurts."

Customers can book seats online one month ahead of time. Cassidy suspects more of them are booking just to ensure they have a spot if they need it, then not calling or emailing to cancel. 

"That's not what we want," he said. "Those people who book and don't show, we're emailing them and saying, 'We have to take your name off the manifest. You're taking up a seat and not using it.' We try to talk to the customers that are maybe misusing our system and not cancelling."

Lynn questions why customers have to call or email T3 Transit to cancel a booking, instead of simply pressing a button online. 

"I wish there were a way to cancel online easily, I think that would help," she said. "But I think it's also panic setting in. People want to book because they see how busy it is. And sometimes there are only one or two seats [available]."

Cassidy says bus drivers have started advising regular passengers that they should still show up, even without a spot booked, as they are likely to get on given the number of no-shows. 

"I appreciate that. But at the same time, it's worrisome," Lynn said.

"If you really need to get to work or school on time, what if it is full that day? What do you do then? If you don't have a car, or it takes too long to go back and get your car to get somewhere on time, that doesn't really help."